Yellowstone Net Newspaper

		.
Site Search		Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter

YELLOWSTONE WEATHER Highs 20s, Lows 0s Partly Cloudy More Weather ROAD REPORT Roads are closed for the season. More Info THE DAILY CARTOON ONLINE GREETING CARDS PUBLISHER Yellowstone Net Company EDITOR-IN- CHIEF Bruce Gourley MORE LINKS Discussion Newspaper Archives Send us your comments		PROTECTING YELLOWSTONE by Bruce Gourley Yellowstone is a national treasure which is owned by the American public. Protecting Yellowstone is the responsibility of the American public. This weekly feature will help identify and explore the issues which are crucial to the ongoing, healthy existence of the "Crown Jewel" of America's National Park system. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- Last week I mentioned the status of the Lynx in the Yellowstone ecosystem. The lynx, as it turns out, is not the only less-popular animal in the Yellowstone ecosystem which is making headlines these days. Recently, the trumpeter swan has also become a focus as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to open the first-ever permanent sport-hunting season of these rare birds. A very large bird (the male's wingspan can reach seven feet), the Trumpeter Swan is native to North America but was nearly exterminated by hunters in the mid-1800s. In the 1830s, fewer than 100 birds remained. A wildlife refuge west of Yellowstone has been set aside to help facilitate the recovery of these graceful birds. The following press release from The Fund for Animals sums up the dire predicament which trumpeter swans are now facing: The Fund for Animals, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, the Utah Environmental Congress, and several individuals have filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) highly controversial plan to open the first-ever permanent sport hunting season of rare trumpeter swans. The largest waterfowl in the world, with a wingspan of seven to eight feet, the trumpeter swan is a subspecies with only about 350 remaining birds and 70 breeding pairs in the entire U.S. breeding segment of the Rocky Mountain population, and is the subject of a pending emergency petition for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The imperiled trumpeter swan is already listed on the FWS's "Birds of Management Concern" list, a registry of bird species that "are likely to become candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act" because of dwindling numbers and loss of habitat. Under the FWS plan, trumpeter swans may be killed by sport hunters in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, despite the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park's concern that the hunt may eliminate "the declining trumpeter swan population that utilizes Yellowstone National Park," and despite the widespread scientific consensus among trumpeter swan experts that the hunt poses a significant threat to the survival and recovery of the species. The hunting of similar-looking tundra swans will also continue. According to Andrea Lococo, Rocky Mountain coordinator for The Fund for Animals, "It's bad enough that our national wildlife refuges are being transformed into killing grounds to pacify the sport hunting fraternity. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service is opening up a hunting season on seriously imperiled trumpeter swans simply to absolve tundra swan hunters of liability for killing rare trumpeters." Added Jasper Carlton, executive director of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, "The Fish and Wildlife Service is giving hunters a license to hunt a population that is clearly biologically endangered. This swan hunting season is scientifically unsound and is clearly illegal." The plaintiffs claim that the FWS approval of the swan hunting season violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. A copy of the 37-page lawsuit is available upon request. For more information about the Trumpeter Swan, including photos by Russ Finley, click here. For more information on The Fund for Animals, click here. (Yellowstone Net provides you opportunity to voice your opinion regarding the various Yellowstone issues to your congresspersons and to editorial sections of magazines and newspapers by clicking here.) BACK TO TOP
.	.	.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan Kim Steinbacher Kevin Sanders Steve Brashear Clint Wilkes Tim Gourley Hon. Bob Gammage Ruth Colter-Frick Lee Whittlesey Tom Mazzarisi Russ Finley David Monteith Denise Elmer Dr. Bob Bara Matthew McLean		GOLD ON THE YELLOWSTONE? News Brief GARDINER, Mont. -- Local motel owner Bob Beede believes there's gold in that thar river. The Yellowstone, that is. Last week Beede, who owns a new lodge on the west bank of the Yellowstone River just north of Yellowstone National Park, plans to start gold mining operations on nine-acre Hotchkiss Island, which fronts his lodge property. He plans to dig four 100 foot-long trenches from 10-14 feet deep as well as four pits for settling ponds. And he told the Bozeman Chronicle that he believes there is "$300,000 to $900,000 worth of dust there," based on earlier holes dug by hand which produced some gold. Since Beede owns the island and mineral rights thereon, he is proceeding as if no permits were needed. The Park Conservation District, however, maintains that Beede does indeed need a permit. And although he maintains that it is not necessary, Beede has applied for a permit. The board has taken no action on Beede's application, instead giving him thirty days to provide more information on his intentions. Meanwhile, Beede continues to insist that he has the right to mine the Yellowstone River, although he has stated that for the right amount of money, he would sell a conservation easement on the property. However, he flatly rejected an initial offer of $12,000. Environmentalists, in the meantime, are accusing Beede of "Greenmail." BACK TO TOP
,	.	.
		WOLF UPDATE News Brief HELENA, Mont. -- Montana's Wolf Management Advisory Council will meet here this week, November 14-15, to continue its work on wolf management recommendations for Montana. The citizen's panel consists of twelve members. Thus far, they have developed sixteen draft principles which address management efforts which are socially acceptable, biologically possible and economically feasible while still maintaining flexibility. The committee was appointed by Montana Governor Marc Racicot to advise Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks concerning possible management plans in anticipation of the wolf's eventual delisting under the federal Endangered Species Act. The committee's work is expected to play a large role in the eventual construction of a Montana wolf management plan. BACK TO TOP
YO	.	.
		GLACIER PARK UPDATE News Brief GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont. -- The National Park Service has begun a project to analyze Glacier's visitor facilities in terms of how well they meet visitors' needs. In part, the results of the study project will be used in helping decide how to rehabilitate historic hotels and other facilities within the Park, many of which are popular but in severe need of repair. Some facilities are over 80 years old, and all are victims of the very harsh alpine climate of Glacier National Park. The need for repairs is both obvious and urgent. Some facilities pose a potential danger to guests, with rotting roofs, asbestos insulation and old wiring. At question is who will pay for the repairs, the Park concessionaire (Glacier Park Inc.) or the federal government. The concessionaire has declared it cannot afford repairs unless room rates are roughly doubled, a proposal the Park Service does not like. The study project seeks to provide some answers to this dilemma. BACK TO TOP